Horrible Bumpy Ride in 1/2 ton pulling TT

Spanousis wrote:
Ok our truck weighs 5600lbs, our Springdale TT weighs 8200 loaded. Our truck is supposed to be able to tow 10,500. How do we get proper WD and tongue weight? What does that mean? Btw my husband doesn't know either and that's why I'm posting. Thanks!

When you are towing a travel trailer there are two separate things you need to look at. One is the "towing" capacity which is the max. horizontal amount the truck is rated to pull. The other is the "payload" capacity which is the max. vertical amount of additional weight that a truck is rated to carry. They are two separate things. When towing a travel trailer (as compared to a fifth wheel), the payload capacity usually runs out well before the rated tow capacity. Truck manufacturers love to brag about the towing capacities but don't talk a whole lot about payload capacity and that is where people often get caught.

When you hook up a travel trailer to a truck (again, unlike a fifth wheel), the weight of the trailer is pushing down on the rear of the truck past the bumper and it cantilevers the weight and forces weight to be removed from the front wheels of the truck. Your owner's manual should say how much weight to be restored back onto the front axle by a WDH. There is a setup procedure for the WDH above which you should read carefully and follow through. If you drive with too little weight restored back onto the front (steer) axle, the front end can be too light and cause serious handling issues. You should also read the manual for the WDH, but what the truck manufacturer says to do should override what the WDH manufacturer specifies.

What you really ought to do is get the truck and TT weighed, figure out all the weights and then make informed decisions based on what the numbers say. Getting to a scale presents a problem though because it sounds like you should not be towing the TT until things are sorted out. It *might* be that if you can get the WDH adjusted better you can make it to a scale, but it's hard to say. The best thing to do might be to find someone in the know that can drop by your place to help sort it out. Just don't ask an RV dealer.

This is a case where a photo or two of the TT and truck hooked could help and also a close-up of the WDH.